Ten years of the Port Governance Agency

The Port Governance Agency marked the 10 th jubilee with a ceremonial conference held on April 21 at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce. The conference was attended by the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesić, General Director of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission Manfred Seitz, Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community Matej Zakonjšek, as well as representatives of state institutions, local governments, the Group for Ports and Terminals, the Group for River Shipping, grain association, oil companies, gravel association, educational institutions and many others.

Director of the Agency Vuk Perović pointed out that the most important results achieved during the past decade are the determination of port areas, investments in the preparation of documentation and construction of infrastructure, the establishment of an efficient system for the collection of port fees, the introduction of software solutions and applications in daily operations, the granting of licenses to port operators. He said that the Agency has established up-to-date and relevant records on cargo handling volumes and the number of passenger arrivals. According to his words, the efforts of the Agency's team were aimed at consistently achieving the strategic goals of the Government of Serbia for the regulation of port activities.

"The picture on the rivers in Serbia is different today. We have 11 cargo ports, eight international passenger terminals and three more scheduled to open by next season, as well as the first declared marinas. In addition, we paid special attention to digitization and paperless business. More than 95 percent of documents go through our system in electronic format," he emphasized. He said that the focus of the work was also development projects - "Awake the Danube", "Sail through Serbia", "Green Ports".

Perović stated that in the past ten years, the Agency has worked on strengthening the partner network in Europe and the world, through participation in projects and conferences. He announced that during the session of the General Assembly of the European Federation of Inland Ports (EFIP) in Vienna, Belgrade and the Agency will be candidates for the organization of the next meeting of this organization.

"The success we achieved during the first decade of business is the result of the efforts of all the employees of the Agency. We will continue to work together with the Government of Serbia on the development of ports, terminals and the port sector," concluded Perović.

The Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesić said that it is very important to invest more in the potential of our rivers because it means that we will develop better as a country. Vesić said that Serbia does not use its rivers enough and that we behaved as if we did not have so many kilometers of banks, stressing that the relevant ministry is trying to make better use of our rivers in the coming period. He congratulated everyone who works in the Port Governance Agency on a successful ten-year work because, he added, they made a great contribution to the development of our rivers.

He stated that the process for the expansion of two ports - Bogojevo and Prahovo, whose reconstruction will begin in the coming period, is currently in the final stage. He also added that the expansion of the Port in Sremska Mitrovica will begin in the coming period.

Vesić reminded that we currently have eight international terminals and announced that we will have three more by the beginning of the next nautical season.

He pointed out that work will be done on a public-private partnership for the construction of the new Port of Belgrade and added that the location has been determined, and that the new Port of Belgrade will be located on the left bank of the Danube, just above the Pupin Bridge.

"We will work on a bulk cargo port, we will work on more such projects in the future. The Ministry will emphasize that because we believe that it is time for Serbia to pay more attention to its rivers," said Vesić.

"We need to work together so that our rivers become not only our treasure but our development potential, and on the other hand, an opportunity for the arrival of more tourists and the promotion of our country," said Vesić.

General Director of the Secretariat of the Danube Commission, Manfred Seitz, stated that in the previous period, the Agency showed enviable results and a great willingness to improve Serbian ports on the Danube. "We are particularly pleased that the Agency will chair the next two sessions of the Expert Group for Ports and Port Operations. In the past years, our cooperation has been at a high level and we can freely say that this institution is a good example of port administration in the Danube region," emphasized Seitz.

The Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community, Matej Zakonjšek, congratulated the jubilee, stressing that the Agency plays an important role in the growth and sustainability of the port. "The Secretariat of the Transport Community has carefully followed the progress of this institution and we are proud to talk about the results achieved today. Inland water traffic in Serbia is of great importance for connecting with the Western Balkans and Europe. We praise the Agency's commitment to infrastructure development and efforts to include Serbian ports in Europe's transport network," said Zakonjšek.

During the working part of the meeting, a presentation was held on activities in ports and terminals in Serbia in 2022. According to the data analyzed so far, 15.3 million tons of transshipped cargo were recorded, which is 600,000 tons less than in 2021 and represents a decrease of 3.5 percent.

The most frequently transhipped type of cargo is gravel, sand and stone aggregates, which hold the share of 33.9 percent in total volume of cargo handling. Coal is in second place with a share of 16.5 percent, and oil and oil products are in third place, with 15.9 percent. Ores take part in the total handling with 9.6 percent. The largest decrease in transhipment was recorded in the case of grains, 1.2 million tons less than in 2021. The reason for the reduced quantities of transshipped grains is the global geopolitical situation.

The results of last year's nautical season indicate the recovery of the cruising industry. In 2022, the Agency recorded 1,419 port calls and 135,251 passengers at international passenger terminals in Serbia. The most port calls were made in Belgrade - 551, followed by Novi Sad - 370. Donji Milanovac recorded 264 port calls and Golubac 211.

Assistant Minister Predrag Petrović presented the activities and plans of the Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure. He pointed out that the ministry will work on the development of water transport through infrastructure projects, since the rivers in Serbia have the potential to strengthen the economy and tourism.

Representatives of the Group for Ports and Terminals and the Group for River Shipping said that 2022 was a challenging year for business, but that in the coming period they will work together to overcome the challenges. They said that the cooperation with the Agency in the past ten years has been extremely good, bearing in mind the willingness of that institution to resolve all issues through open dialogue and provide professional assistance.

This year's conference was rated as the most successful, considering that it gathered 130 participants from relevant institutions and organizations.